World cross-country champion Beatrice Chebet successfully defended her title on Sunday by winning the World Athletics Cross Country Tour at the Cross Internacional de Atapuerca in Spain.

This event marked the second Gold standard meeting in this season’s World Athletics Cross Country Tour. Chebet completed the race in 25 minutes and 21 seconds, securing her title once again. She was closely followed by Uganda’s Sarah Chelangat, who finished in 25 minutes and 36 seconds, and Edinah Jebitok in third place with a time of 25 minutes and 44 seconds.

Right from the beginning of the women’s 8km race, Chebet took the lead, accompanied by fellow Kenyan runners Jebitok and Lucy Mawia. However, Mawia eventually fell behind and was overtaken by Uganda’s Chelangat by the end of the first kilometer, securing Chelangat’s second-place finish.
Beatrice Chebet first gained recognition in 2017 during the World U-18 championships in Nairobi, where she finished fourth in the 3,000m race. She later achieved victory in the 5,000m at the 2018 World U-20 Championships in Tampere, Finland.
In 2019, she won the gold medal at the Africa U-20 Championships held in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Chebet earned a silver medal in the 5,000m at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, USA. She went on to claim the African Championships 5,000m title in Saint Pierre, Mauritius, and achieved a season’s best time of 14 minutes and 38.21 seconds in the same event at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England.

In 2023, Chebet finished third in the 5,000m at the World Athletics Championships held in Budapest, Hungary. She expressed her satisfaction with her consecutive titles in Atapuerca and confirmed her next appearance at the ‘Cross Internacional de Itálica’ in Seville on November 12.
“I am pleased with the results and to be able to defend my title. Next up for me is the cross-country race in Spain in November,” she said.
The men’s competition was secured by Jacob Kiplimo from Uganda, completing the race in 26 minutes. Following closely behind, Ronald Kwemoi from Kenya finished in 26 minutes and 15 seconds, while Rodrigue Kwizera from Burundi came in third place with a time of 26 minutes and 16 seconds.